The Sumerian World (Routledge Worlds)

(Sean Pound) #1

CHAPTER THIRTEEN


DEMOCRACY AND THE RULE


OF LAW, THE ASSEMBLY, AND


THE FIRST LAW CODE





Marc Van De Mieroop


O


ne Ancient Mesopotamian only has found his way into the US House of
Representatives in Washington DC: Hammurabi of Babylon’s sculpted portrait
joins those of Moses, Justinian, Thomas Jefferson, and others as “historical figures
noted for their work in establishing the principles that underlie American Law.” As
author of the code of Hammurabi, the king has become a widely recognized world-
historical figure. People who know somewhat more about Ancient Mesopotamia realize
that his work was not a new beginning, but the culmination of processes that had
started much earlier and the evidence for which is mostly written in the Sumerian
language rather than the Babylonian of Hammurabi’s code. I will discuss that material
here, focusing on third millennium BCdevelopments in law and politics. By necessity,
I will use assorted evidence that is much dispersed in space, time, and character. The
Code of Hammurabi, written some 250 years after the end of the third millennium,
provides a means to keep those different strands together as it addresses all the issues,
perhaps seeking to resolve conflicts between the different interests involved.


THE RULE OF LAW
A summary of court records drawn up in the year 2034 (the fourth year of the reign of
King Åu-Sîn of Ur) reports this case:

The heirs of Lugula raised a claim against the daughters of E’urbi, slave of Lugula.
Ninduga, child of the slave E’urbi brought before the vizier the tablet of Lugula, that
Lugula, when alive, had appeared and declared: ‘In the name of the king [I swear]
that herewith I set free the daughters of my slave E’urbi.’ The children of E’urbi
proved themselves to be free from the heirs of Lugula. Ur-Lama, son of LuÑu was
the bailiff.
Falkenstein 1956 : II, no 205 , 27 – 42 , translation after Wilcke 1998 : 50 – 1 )

The record reveals that a clay tablet, drawn up perhaps years earlier, provided evidence
that the children of a slave woman had been freed by her owner Lugula and that
Lugula’s heirs had no claim on them. The Sumerians can be credited with the invention
of an instrument of law that is still crucial today: the legal contract – the German term
Rechtsurkundemay be more articulate. With its creation, a third element came into
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